Are you rich? How much of a nestegg do you need to join the true elite.

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky I am still enjoying doing technical work but having second thoughts lately since my role is becoming more managerial.

that's exactly when my engineering j*b started going downhill. try to keep your fingers in the pie!

maybe informally mentor a new hire in a different dept so you can keep your finger on the pulse. or manage the new (your idea) mentor program!

good luck!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR Need some bling for your surfboard?

Funny you should mention that-- spouse saw a story last night about Cameron Diaz' $2400 surfboard with inlaid fins.

Cameron Diaz Surfboard Design*-*360Guide

I'd be afraid to (1) take it into the water for fear of dinging or even denting it, and (2) leave it anywhere around the beach/parking lot. Too much responsibility...

As for the "evil work" comments, during my working years I'd would've been thrilled to find an avocation that outweighed all the "dissatisfiers". Now that I'm ER'd I think I've found it.

CybrMike, I think a true assessment of how much you enjoy your avocation is whether or not you'd get paid for it-- or donate your salary to charity. But when you're running your own business it's a lot easier to declare a surfing break.

What's not evil, however, but rather sad, is those who hate their occupations yet fear that they'll never have enough to ER. It's worse than Rich's "Just one more year" syndrome, and we've had a few posters who freaked out when they had to contemplate a lifetime of outgo sans income.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky This marks the beginning of a journey toward equanimity and non-attachment to status and material possessions.

Yes.

Once you let it go you can relax.

You start out thinking we're smart and destined to greatness. You strive to impress others (parents, lovers, siblings, bosses, neighbors...) with how smart, strong, successful you are.

Sometime in your 40s that little voice inside starts to tell you that you're not going to be great; never going to attain sufficient power, wealth and status. For even what you do attain is never enough.

You can ignore that voice and try to stifle it: with more stuff, new stuff. (I think this is where middle age crazy kicks in).

Or you can listen.

You're never going to have all you wanted. Did you really want it in the first place? Or were you always told that you wanted it? Were you told that you had to stick to the script or else? Or else what? That people would not appropriately admire you?

You do have all you're going to get. And that's probably enough.
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"What will people think?"
I don't care.

"What do you do?"
Very little.

"What do you do in you spare time?"
I don't understand the concept of 'spare time'.
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Occasionally I feel competitive, but I am usually successful at dismissing it.

It's interesting to watch the (figurative) snorting and hoof stomping that goes on at the office, in traffic, on various message boards: people simply can not back down. It doesn't even matter what the original idea or action was; it's the principle of the thing. And it is often people in their 40s. I guess they still feel they have to prove something.
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Mongol General: What is best in life?
Conan: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Khan: To watch the squirrels.

[Khan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky I am still enjoying doing technical work but having second thoughts lately since my role is becoming more managerial.

That's what knocked me off the fence.

[retiringby50]

I'm convinced the more money I have, the more I will think I need to be rich. <sigh>

I remember the lean years not-so-long ago (17 years and 10 months to be exactly) when we were saving for the wedding and paying the mortgage payments. I had enough to buy gas and that was it. My mom packed my lunches to bring to my first corporate job, and DH brought lunch to work as well. It really wasn't until about 4 years ago when I started making the amount of salary that I was happy with, and now I have a contract job that pays more than twice that amount, while DH is content at his job and earnings. Last year I inherited and it doubled our assets, but I still feel like we're not "rich." Weird.

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retire@40 For some, it's never enough. For others, it's greed.

Sorry, you've lost me there. What is the difference between these two groups?

[ladelfina]

Quote:

I still feel like we're not "rich." Weird.

For me it's when I go to the store here and a pound of dry red beans is $3.50, (the more common white beans, $2). My money has doubled, but so have prices.

[Spanky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiringby50 I'm convinced the more money I have, the more I will think I need to be rich. <sigh>

It will never be enough as we continue to raise our bar on lifestyle.

[ladelfina]

The "bean" lifestyle is looking pretty rich to me right now!

[Notmuchlonger]

I feel rich. I damn well know what poor is like.

[WanderLuster]

Well I'm far from rich (especially given the definitions in the original article), but I've never really been poor either.

The article did make me a little lustful. A private jet, a personal chef, a flat in london and a villa in the Greek isles, a box at the Met, a vast personal library. It's enough to make my head spin.

"That's selling out.
But it's nice to dream"

[DMS]

If I am in a 3rd world country I feel like a multimillionaire. If I went to the Hamptons I would feel like I was low middle class. Like most anything it is relative.

[Disappointed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMS If I went to the Hamptons I would feel like I was low middle class. Like most anything it is relative.

That is pretty good. To be a middle class in the Hamptons probably takes a lot of dough.

mp

[DMS]

I said "lower".

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer I don't like jobs but I like work. I like to spend hours in my woodworking shop building furniture. That's work, believe me, but not a job. When I spend an entire afternoon digging around the garden, that's work, but not a job. Cleaning up your house, that's work, but not a job. Volunteering at your neighborhood soup kitchen that's work, but not a job. I suspect that many people who are FIREd in fact like work... We just don't like other people telling us what to do...

Tell you what. Feel free to come over to my place any time, and you can wash my car, vacuum my carpets, iron my shirts, rake my leaves, shovel my snow, cut my grass, etc. All without pay, natch.

You can set your own hours, prioritize your tasks, and work at your own pace; so I know that you'll enjoy yourself, and I'll be happy, too!

[packrat44]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack It may be a minority, but some people actually thrive on work, I know a few, nothing wrong with that. I'm not rich by any stretch, but I'm beyond FI, and I wouldn't quit yet. Work can be the most meaningful activity for some people, not that other activities aren't as well. I'm always puzzled by people who come on here with the POV that work is inherently "bad." Live and let live...

It all depends - If you get to drive the train, work can be enjoyable. If you have to empty bedpans, work is not so enjoyable.

There is a great span between being in control and that of one being controlled.

[packrat44]

[quote=Disappointed;626120]I am speechless. Wonder how many members belong to this group.
Are You Rich? How Much of a Nest Egg Do You Need to Join the True Elite - Barron's Online







With my net worth, I fit in the category of feast on Stagnant Tap Water and Week Old Doughnuts.

[RunningBum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by packrat44;627930[U Are You Rich? How Much of a Nest Egg Do You Need to Join the True Elite - Barron's Online[/U] With my net worth, I fit in the category of feast on Stagnant Tap Water and Week Old Doughnuts.

That was a pretty good article. I feel like I'm at the level where I can live comfortably without worry, but I watch everything I spend. Somewhere around $10M to $25M I figure I could stop looking at price tags on most things.

But it's not worth it to me to keep working to get to that level. Plus the stock option boom at my company leveled off a few years ago, so I'd have to go out and try to catch lightning in a bottle again, and start working as hard as I did 10-15 years ago. No thanks. However, if I was on the path that a couple more years might get me there, I'd think about it. And probably quit anyway, because I don't mind looking at price tags and don't feel the need to buy everything I think would be cool to have.

And if I don't feel like getting to that level, I really don't feel the need to get to the private jet level. It would be cool to have a jet to go between my fabulous homes, but I don't need the headaches that go along with that kind of money.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by packrat44 It all depends - If you get to drive the train, work can be enjoyable. If you have to empty bedpans, work is not so enjoyable. There is a great span between being in control and that of one being controlled.

Don't be so sure. I guess you could say I 'drive the train' where I work, and it ain't all fun and games. I do understand the 'challenges' that come with emptying bedpans, but for the most part that lasts 8 hrs/5 days a week (or some similar schedule). 'Driving the train' has it's challenges during the day to be sure, and nowadays with BlackBerry's and being networked in at home (basically a job requirement), it's almost a 24/7 job. It's been almost 20 years since I have a vacation where I wasn't in contact with work, and believe me I've lost whole days during several vacations over the years. Vacations are still allowed, as long as you stay in touch 24/7. And I can assure you my work experience has become pretty commonplace.

From my perspective, I envy my employees who for the most part get to forget about work when they leave each day. My point is only that, work can be enjoyable (or not) all along the hierarchy continuum.

[heyyou]

The drive towards "more" is competitive. The money is just for keeping score. Having more than the next person, is more important than what the extra money will buy. For ERs, it is the other way around. When we have saved enough for retirement, we quit the job.